The present invention relates to machine tools comprising a rotary spindle and a tool assembly, as well as means for varying the relative position of the spindle and the tools.
The machine tools used at the present time comprise several families and, in particular: lathes comprising a rapid rotary spindle for supporting the work piece to be machined and for presenting it rotating in front of fixed or slow moving tools; milling machines comprising a plate or a support for the work piece to be machined, which moves slowly or not at all, the tool being mounted on a rapid rotation spindle.
Known devices are well adapted to high rate production, in which the operations to be carried out by a same machine tool on a work piece are relatively few in number and simple.
Attempts have been made recently to increase the machining possibilities of the work piece using the same machine tool. However, the devices used up to the present time are relatively ill adapted to medium scale production in which the machine tool must carry out a relatively high number of elementary operations.
The present invention provides a new machine tool structure, derived from the lathe and forming an assembly particularly well adapted to medium scale production with complex machining.
The device may be used for machining simple work pieces as well as for machining complex work pieces and provides gains in productivity all the higher the more complex the work pieces.